CASABLANCA, Morocco — Building an eco-city from scratch is a balancing act. Developers at Morocco’s Zenata kept environmental impact and job creation in mind as they set about to design their urban strategy. Their goal was a sustainable urban development project that optimized natural resource use. At each step, they evaluated their performance according to key social, environmental, and economic performance indicators.
Devex saw the results first hand during a visit to Zenata Eco-City last month. A mixed sewage collection system, for example, redirects rainwater toward retention ponds. The design also reserved 30 percent of the land for green spaces to promote biodiversity. With the eventual opening of an integrated health care center, university campus and shopping center, Zenata expects to offer 100,000 jobs to its estimated 300,000 residents, according to Mohamed Naciri, business development director at Zenata Development Company — the group responsible for the city’s design.
Zenata’s phase one broke ground in 2012, and to date, all major roads have been built, an IKEA retail store has opened at the retail center, and the foundation for a residential area has been laid in the 2,000 acre area. Developers say the city’s neighborhood, Quartier de la Ferme, should be welcoming families by 2020.
About the author
Christin Roby@robyreports
Christin Roby worked as the West Africa Correspondent for Devex, covering global development trends, health, technology, and policy. Before relocating to West Africa, Christin spent several years working in local newsrooms and earned her master of science in videography and global affairs reporting from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Her informed insight into the region stems from her diverse coverage of more than a dozen African nations.